


Before Dawn

by taviceline



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Family Loss, Gen, Loss, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 12:01:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17807633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taviceline/pseuds/taviceline
Summary: Therapy's court-mandated for Steve Rogers in the aftermath of Thanos. But there's always something to keep his mind off it.





	Before Dawn

It was ten times worse than New York. It was different. New York wasn't as much out of the blue as this. Where the enemy came from…it was clear. And at the end, the good guys won. That's what was important after all. It only happened in one city and everything was okay. That wasn't this incident.

 

Half of the U.S. population gone. Hell, half the world gone. Completely at random. It swept through then disappeared, leaving everyone in its wake mourning and confused and desperate for some sort of relief or solace. Solace. A safe haven away from it all. Though, not necessarily 'away' for Steve. He could never be away from it all. Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw Bucky turn to dust. Sam. T'Challa. So many others gone.

 

"I know that the world's gonna move on from this. It always does. But I can't." He'd been forced to just move on from each loss. Bucky the first time. Peggy. He never had the chance to just feel that loss and now, he wishes he didn't. Every muscle ached with sadness. "I can't just go about things business as usual. It's not that easy."

 

A new face had appeared in the room and kept to himself. He was understanding, sympathetic when someone spoke. When they finished…..nothing. There was something off. Steve spent the court-mandated sessions saying his piece and trying not to dissociate or be caught in the undertow of his memories for the next fifteen minutes. But something was off about his man.

 

The stranger cleared his throat and a New Jersey accent bled from his words as he spoke. "I wasn't sure I was gonna come but my, um. One of my friends suggested it to be," he started. Blue eyes were filled with anger and so much hurt. Steve saw it in everyone that he passed by. Hell, he saw it in the mirror. But it was so intense. "So it's supposed to be the same, I guess. But it's not."

 

"When my parents died, I knew what happened. I could explain it. I lost someone else before…I knew what happened there too. But this, I can't…I can't figure it out." A soft scoff as a hand ran through his raven black hair. "I'm usually able to figure out everything, I'm the guy everyone goes to for that. But I can't figure out what happened here. I don't get it. It pisses me off because of how it happened."

 

There was a pang in Steve's chest as he listened to the man's voice break. But he regained composure like he was used to quickly putting on a mask and kept speaking. "I watched two of my brothers fade away. One of them…I thought I lost him before and I got him back and it's just…it's worse now. The other, he was so fucking young. Not even fourteen yet. And my, um. My father. I always thought he was too stubborn to die."

 

The man's posture straightened slightly. "I know if he was here, he'd figure everything out. Know the right clue. He was there for me once and told me that the night's always darkest before dawn. I try to think about that now."

 

The meeting ended with him. The dark-haired man went immediately for the coffee. It was a far cry from Starbucks but he was downing cups of it like tequila. Steve stood to the side, taking a pastry from the box. "You alright?"

 

"Yeah, I work nights." No indication of talking further on his job but not in a rude sense. The dark-haired man tipped his coffee cup in a small salute. "Might just come back for the coffee."

 

A raised eyebrow as Steve chewed on the pastry. "To each his own, I guess. I'm--"

 

"Steve Rogers," the stranger finished without looking up. No inflection or sign of remote surprise. When he did look up, his cerulean eyes looked tired but brightened with a façade of stability. "I was here for the introductions, just in the hall. I'm sorry for who you lost."

 

His head dipped low in response. "Yeah. And you're?"

 

"Dick Grayson." He took a sip of the coffee and shrugged as if to think, Might as well. "And outta here. Graveyard shift, remember?"

 

Steve watched him leave, his words still replaying in his mind. He needed something to distract from his pain. A text alert vibrated on his phone, interrupting his thoughts. Natasha. If the night's always darkest before dawn, it would be awhile before the sun ever rose.

**Author's Note:**

> I thought about making this a series thing but like. idk fuck it


End file.
